Nurses voted 170 to 149 NOT to unionize with the California Nurses Association. This was the 2nd attempt by the CNA to organize at WMCSA. CNA organizers made it very clear that there will be... Read More

supervisors as frontline soldiers: supervisors, who themselves have no legally protected right to be represented by a union, are manipulated into delivering anti-union letters, speeches, and informal chats prepared by unionbusters, essentially doing the dirty work of the unionbusters and management.

one-on-one meetings: during organizing drives, 78 percent of workers are forced to attend closed-door or isolated meetings with supervisors.5 these aren’t friendly impromptu chats, but well-planned meetings to decipher employees’ feelings about the union and persuade them against the union.

captive audience meetings: so-called ‘captive audience’ meetings are held for employees during work hours to disseminate propaganda against union representation and to attempt to discredit the union. employees are almost always required to attend, but union organizers may be intentionally disinvited. often, the meetings are rigged so that workers who are already against the union are assigned to ask questions to sow misinformation.

delay: unionbusters often attempt to delay union representation elections by legal maneuvers so they have more time to implement other tactics needed to increase tension, dissension and the employer’s chance of winning the election.

divide & conquer: the unionbuster creates opportunities and crafts persuasive messages to make employees feel that there is a tense division among staff concerning the union election. they may go so far as to pit one group of employees against each other, based on race or ethnicity.

letters, letters, letters: a unionbuster’s specialty is hammering out materials—be it cartoons, leaflets or management correspondence—to make the case against the union. 92 percent of companies involved in organizing drives mail anti-union materials to employees’ homes.6

love offerings: in order to convince employees that they don't need a union, unionbusters may advise clients to provide indirect bribes, like unexpected increases in wages or benefits or ‘feel good’ measures like free food and lottery tickets.

supervisors as frontline soldiers: supervisors, who themselves have no legally protected right to be represented by a union, are manipulated into delivering anti-union letters, speeches, and informal chats prepared by unionbusters, essentially doing the dirty work of the unionbusters and management.

one-on-one meetings: during organizing drives, 78 percent of workers are forced to attend closed-door or isolated meetings with supervisors.5 these aren’t friendly impromptu chats, but well-planned meetings to decipher employees’ feelings about the union and persuade them against the union.

captive audience meetings: so-called ‘captive audience’ meetings are held for employees during work hours to disseminate propaganda against union representation and to attempt to discredit the union. employees are almost always required to attend, but union organizers may be intentionally disinvited. often, the meetings are rigged so that workers who are already against the union are assigned to ask questions to sow misinformation.

delay: unionbusters often attempt to delay union representation elections by legal maneuvers so they have more time to implement other tactics needed to increase tension, dissension and the employer’s chance of winning the election.

divide & conquer: the unionbuster creates opportunities and crafts persuasive messages to make employees feel that there is a tense division among staff concerning the union election. they may go so far as to pit one group of employees against each other, based on race or ethnicity.

letters, letters, letters: a unionbuster’s specialty is hammering out materials—be it cartoons, leaflets or management correspondence—to make the case against the union. 92 percent of companies involved in organizing drives mail anti-union materials to employees’ homes.6

love offerings: in order to convince employees that they don't need a union, unionbusters may advise clients to provide indirect bribes, like unexpected increases in wages or benefits or ‘feel good’ measures like free food and lottery tickets.

how cool you pulled that right out of a cna or teamsters manual. the california nurses association pulled just about all those tricks at western medical center santa ana.

one on one meetings: the cna frequently served food and beverage in meeting rooms in the hospital to attract nurses and then corner them to push their "product".

delay? the cna filed numerous charges after we voted against them in two elections delaying certification of the vote. none of these bogus charges could hold up and the cna eventually threw in the towel both times.

divide and conquer? the cna and other unions create an us vs them mentality against both management and nurses or other staff who voice opinions that do not align with theirs. i call this the "gang leader mentality" sending in aggressive pro union nurses or organizers to find timid, uniformed or shy staff members and convince them they need "protection".

letters, leaflets and cartoons? the cna used leaflets to make claims about what they "won" for nurses at other hospitals. i pointed out claims that they "won" a pension at tri-city hospital in oceanside, california as a big stretch of the truth as the nurses there already had a pension plan in place before the union contract. cartoon? a caricature of me was mailed anonymously to hundreds of west med rn's. i mentioned this in a previous post in this thread. do you want to see it? i can email you a pdf of it. the cna not only mailed this to nurses homes but had organizers hand deliver it as well, making uninvited visits to nurses homes.

love offerings? the cna in all it's leaflets suggest huge pay raises and benefits including the suggestion of a pension. when was the last time the cna won a pension plan for nurses in a hospital where a pension did not already exist? food and beverage, key rings, id badge lanyards, pizza parties......all this was provided at my hospital.

union busters? none! the cna enforced a neutrality aggreement at west med in which manage must remain neutral and management consultants were banned! now i was accused and have been called a "union buster" by many in the cna and seiu, but it is strictly an honorary title bestowed upon me by the unions. i am a staff nurse in patient care. i do bedside nursing almost every day. i am also very vocal and not afraid to voice my opinions.

thanks for reading,

sherwood

Last edit by Sherwood on Apr 27, '07
: Reason: need spell check

Apr 27, '07

Joined: Nov '06; Posts: 3,125; Likes: 2,996

WHO is this person, Sherwood? What is his agenda REALLY?WHY?

Last edit by Simplepleasures on Apr 27, '07

Apr 28, '07

Joined: Mar '99; Posts: 13,361; Likes: 1,376

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee leads a protest action in Chicago
against hospital industry push to get the National Labor Relations Board to re-define direct care registered nurses as supervisors. As such, they would not be declared in the union bargaining unit, therefore reducing the number of union members that could be organized. Action took place on August 8, 2006. 9 minutes.

[font=verdana,arial][font=verdana,arial]product/ service delivery and quality

[font=verdana,arial]according to professors michael ash and jean ann seago,[color=#333399][4] heart attack recovery rates are higher in hospitals where nurses are unionized than in non-union hospitals.

When I was hired at Unity in Jan. of 1996 it was shortly after an unsuccessful vote to become union. Allina thanked their nurses for this show of support by downsizing and redirecting many of it's nursing staff. Nurses in the end of 1995 were required to re-bid for there positions, many nurses remained in their positions, many were moved to different areas they were not originally hired for, and many were asked to leave. It didn't take long for the hospital to realize that they woefully understaffed themselves and needed to hire more nurses. Instead of asking back many of the nursing staff whose positions were vacated Unity hired a number of LPN's to take their place. I began my career at Unity as an outsider who had taken the place of "good" nurses. It was at times a hostile environment I learned first hand the term "nurses eat their young." But I loved Unity. No matter the current culture, every nurse there had an individual passion to give their patients the best care possible. But individual passion when it comes to nursing can only get you so far. As an LPN I could see these nurses needed unity, they needed a voice where there was only a whisper. It was as an LPN I contacted the Minnesota Nurse Association and encouraged a number of RN's to try to organize again. That vote failed again. The nurses where persuaded and encouraged that they did not need to organize to have a voice. They were guaranteed the same benefits and language that their sister hospital had without having to be represented or pay union dues. Miraculously staffing issues that were brought up during this campaign drive were solved as a "good will gesture." Soon after the nurses voted against the union for the second time they were rewarded for their faith in management by decreasing and changing their healthcare to a high deductible, high co-pay format and the staffing crisis worsened with the firing of all LPN's and even the off shift nursing assistants in areas such as the Intensive Care Unit.

There is a hospital in Louisville, KY that is Union and I think represented by United Nurses of America. Although I do not work for this hospital I do hold a residence there and have worked in the area in the past. This union seems to be very strong. I think the nurses have a good majority of participation and I recall many years back them striking and bringing this corperate giant owning many hospitals throughout Kentucky to their knees, they also won some lawsuits as well. I really don't know much about this union other than what I have said, but I do know this...the cost of living for the area is low and the nursing wages there are well above average. Other hospitals and healthcare providers must offer good wages even though not union just to keep up with the Jones and be able to compete for nursing staff. So for those not working at the hospital that is Union....they still get to reap some of the benefits.

There is a hospital in Louisville, KY that is Union and I think represented by United Nurses of America. Although I do not work for this hospital I do hold a residence there and have worked in the area in the past. This union seems to be very strong. I think the nurses have a good majority of participation and I recall many years back them striking and bringing this corperate giant owning many hospitals throughout Kentucky to their knees, they also won some lawsuits as well. I really don't know much about this union other than what I have said, but I do know this...the cost of living for the area is low and the nursing wages there are well above average. Other hospitals and healthcare providers must offer good wages even though not union just to keep up with the Jones and be able to compete for nursing staff. So for those not working at the hospital that is Union....they still get to reap some of the benefits.

I did lead a campaign to keep the CNA out of my hospital. I never intimidated anyone. An "anonymous" flyers of me depicted as a puppet manipulated by management was sent to the homes of a couple of hundred nurses....no return address.